REMINDER OF
JANUARY'S ANNOUNCEMENTS. We have a large number of new projects
that have been completed. Last month, we announced the 2005 Does God Exist? Summer Training
Seminar for Christian Leaders to be held in Dowagiac, MI.
The seminar is free, but we must have everyone who participates
pre-registered so we will have adequate food and materials. We also
announced the 14th children's book in our children's series titled Animals of the Cold. See last
month's issue for details.

ANNOUNCING
THREE NEW BOOKS. The Does God Exist? program is
pleased to announce three new books that have just been completed and
are available from the program. The first of these is a new edition of
our "Evidences of God" series. This series is a reprint of articles
that we have had in the bimonthly journal. We started doing this in
1972 and have bound volumes of the article for every issue from 1972
on. This new volume which is volume IX covers articles from 2001-2003.

The second book that we have available is a rewrite of our basic
children's course guide. This is a set of 13 lessons for grades 3-6
with an exhaustive teacher's guide. It is the teacher's guide that has
been updated and matched with our children's video series that is now
available.

The third book that is available is another book in our series on
how Christianity allows us to deal with pain and suffering. We have
three other books in this series--one on the struggles with having a
child born with multiple birth defects by John Clayton, one on the
struggles with cancer by Judy Hines Ragsdale, and one on disabling
illness or injury by Ralph Scott. This new book is written by Phyllis
Clayton and involves living with diabetes. Phyllis is an insulin-
dependent diabetic who has lived with diabetes for over 56 years. It is
titled Living Successfully With
Diabetes and tells from a personal standpoint how diabetes can
be lived with (not for), what
the complications can and have been for her, and how a Christian can
approach and live successfully with this disease.

Like any of our materials, these books can be borrowed or ordered
from us at cost. See bottom of this page for an order form and prices.
Contact us
about borrowing materials.

FLEW BACKS
OFF ATHEISM. One of the world's leading atheists has decided he
does not want to stay in that camp. Many of us are familiar with
British philosophy professor Anthony Flew who has had debates against
the existence of God on many college campuses in the United States.
Flew is quoted by the Associated Press as saying ". some form of
intelligence or first cause must have created the universe. A
super-intelligence is the only good explanation of the origin of life
and the complexity of nature." Flew justifies his change in views by
saying, "My whole life has been guided by the principle of Plato's
Socrates: Follow the evidence, wherever it leads." Flew is not backing
the Christian concept of God and goes to great lengths to say he is a
deist, not a believer in a God who is actively involved in people's
lives. Our reaction to this is that such a statement is at least a
beginning.

--Reference: AP Release, New York,
December 9, 2004.

PURDUE
DEBATE BRINGS INTERESTING VIEWS. The Does
God Exist? lectureship series that is held on weekends throughout
the United States and Canada deals almost entirely with scientific
evidence and things related to the integrity of the Bible. In recent
years, there have been numerous debates by those trained in philosophy
in a public venue. This past fall, Purdue University had a debate
between atheist scholar Austin Dacey and Christian philosopher William
Lane Craig. As opinions are stated about the debate, it has been
interesting how many students are quoted as believing that there is
good evidence for the existence of God, but also stating they do not
want to accept God's existence due to the life style change it would
demand. One atheist student is quoted as saying "a commitment to Christ
will crimp my social life." Perhaps some of our atheist friends have a
better handle on this than some who claim to be believers.

KINSEY AND
HOMOSEXUALITY. One of the sources of data thrown around in the
debates over homosexuality has been the data supposedly gathered by
Alfred Kinsey around 1948. In The
Week, November 26, 2004, is a report that Kinsey did not believe
that there are homosexuals or heterosexuals, but that all humans engage
in acts which can be classified that way. His data then was based upon
this assumption and the rating system that he used was skewed badly by
it. The more the data is looked at in this debate, the more bad science
you see on all sides.

VIRUS THEORY
OF EVOLUTION SPEAKS OF DESIGN. One of the problems that
evolutionists have struggled with is that the creative forces of
evolution have been poorly understood. The jump to mammals, flowering
plants, and man are very difficult for evolutionary theorists to
explain if mutations and natural selection are the only forces
operating. Dr. Luis Villarreal contends that an overlooked evolutionary
force are viruses, which have been around since life began, but whose
functions are not well understood--especially the positive things they
do. Villarreal contends that junk DNA really is the coding of viruses,
designed to promote the development of things essential for life to
survive. The theory is radical, but it would answer many questions that
evolutionists have not been able to address. We would suggest that if
this discovery stands, it is a beautiful demonstration of the design
built into the cosmos, a tool that is programed to lead to the positive
things needed for life. Chance would have a difficult time explaining
the virus and its operation, but as a tool of God, it makes sense and
tells us why viruses exist.

--Reference: News Service article,
December 6, 2004.

MAMA DINOS
AND BABIES. The more data one sees on dinosaurs, the more he
realizes that the pictures we have been given by the media and
entertainment industry are far from the truth. Dinosaurs have been
portrayed as laying eggs and then running off to feed. In Liaoning,
China, an adult Psittacosaur dinosaur has been found curled around the
skeletons of a large number of its babies. It is obvious that our
understandings of dinosaurs has a long way to go, and the complexity of
their lifestyles may be very high.

--Reference: Discover, December 2004,
page 10.

MEDIA
NONSENSE ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS. One way to sell magazines these
days seems to be to make an issue with a lot of traditional religious
material and then proceed to try to show how silly it is. Newsweek, December 13,2004, pages
49-58, goes this route with an article titled "The Birth of Jesus." The
article is a strange mix of Bible quotes, historical figures' opinions,
and pagan tradition. The biblical scholars quoted are mostly
minimalists whose view is that "the story can't possibly be true so
here is an explanation of what really happened." We would suggest that
people need to read the Bible and look at the teachings of Jesus to
determine whether they are true or not. Human theories and the battles
between professors in human institutions do not determine what is
Truth, nor do they provide an objective factual method of deciding
whether what is presented is true or not.